Purchasing Junk Silver and Mixed Silver

Mixed silver coinage, commonly called junk silver, is a term denoting any mixed lot of circulation coins that are sold as silver bullion. Decades ago, silver was still heavily used in the minting of coinage for circulation. Today, these pieces seldom circulate as currency, instead, due to the high price of silver they are traded by investors who buy silver bullion. The most commonly-traded junk silver consists of pre-1964 United States coinage. In that era, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollars were all struck from a 90% silver and 10% copper alloy. Even after 1964, Kennedy half-dollars contained some silver in the core and cladding of the coin, totaling 40% of the overall weight. Other nations, of course, produced silver coinage decades ago, but pre-1964 US silver coinage is still predominant among investors who buy silver bullion online.

Investing in Junk Silver and Mixed Silver

Mixed silver coinage used for bullion investment typically has little numismatic value, despite the age of these old silver coins. Instead, the melt value of silver gives these coins most of their worth and the physical condition of each silver coin matters little. This combination allows junk silver to trade close to the current silver spot price. Along with certain silver bars and silver rounds, buying junk silver online is one of the least expensive ways to purchase silver bullion. Small bags of junk silver are great, inexpensive bullion products for beginning investors.

90% Silver US Coinage

United States coins larger than the nickel and minted before 1964 were struck from an alloy of 90% silver and 10% copper. US coinage metal has long since replaced by base metals, like zinc and nickel, yet occasional examples of these coins can still be found in circulation. The majority of the surviving 90% silver coinage, however, has been divided into lots and is sold to buyers who invest in silver bullion. Often called junk silver, investors sell and buy junk silver online in large amounts. Junk silver that is made up of 90% silver United States coinage is usually organized into lots whose value is determined by the face value of the coinage. Common sizes of lots are $1 face value, $10 face value, and $100 face value. Regardless which pre-1964 silver coins comprise each lot, the ratio of face value to troy ounces of silver is remarkably consistent -- every $100 of silver coin face value equals approximately 71.5 troy ounces of silver. Occasionally, junk silver coins in this category are referred to as FV-90, meaning 90% silver and priced according to the face value.

Buying 40% Silver US Coinage

In the late 1960's, it became more expensive for the US government to mint silver coinage, resulting in the silver content of the Kennedy half-dollar being reduced. Kennedy half-dollars, instead of being 90% silver and 10% copper, were produced in a new alloy of 79% copper and 21% silver for the core, and an 80% silver and 20% copper alloy for the outer cladding. Overall, each of these Kennedy half-dollars was comprised of 60% copper and 40% silver, and were the last regular circulation US silver coins ever minted. Today, bags of these 40% silver coins are a common purchase by bullion investors who buy silver online. Often denoted as FV40, groups of these silver coins are also sold by the total face value amount.

Buying Junk Silver Online

Junk silver is extremely popular with investors who buy silver online because it is very inexpensive. The coins involved are usually extremely worn and in poor condition, thereby having little to no numismatic or collectible value. This fact keeps the price of silver junk coins very close to the current spot silver price and makes buying junk silver coins a low-cost method of buying silver online. CBMint is the best place to buy junk silver online -- should you have any questions about buying junk silver bullion online from CBMint, please feel free to Contact Us, or call CBMint toll-free at 1-866-300-0504.